New Changes from Fisheries Legislation Amendment Act 2016 (NT) Commence
Tuesday 10 January 2017 @ 1.14 p.m. | Legal Research
On 1 January 2017, new changes to the Fisheries Act (NT) resulting from the amendments in the Fisheries Legislation Amendment Act 2016 (23 of 2016) (NT) (The Act) commenced.
According to the Media Release, Department of Primary Industry and Resources Deputy Chief Executive Ian Curnow said these changes to the Fisheries Act would help ensure the Northern Territory’s valuable aquatic resources were protected, developed and managed in an ecologically sustainable manner.
The Amendments Contained in the Act
According to the Explanatory Statement, the Act amends the Fisheries Act (NT) and Fisheries Regulations (NT) in the following ways:
- Fulfils Government’s legal commitments under the various Blue Mud Bay (BMB) settlement agreements that allow permit-free fishing in intertidal waters overlying Aboriginal Land;
- Provides essential biosecurity powers to deal with increasing risks of pest and disease incursions;
- Removes red tape and administrative burden to provide a simpler and more efficient fishery licensing framework to reduce time, costs, and improve business flexibility;
- Provides for more efficient and effective compliance through the use of electronic monitoring systems, the use of fishery infringement notices or confiscation notices for minor offences and contemporary penalties that are commensurate with the level of the offence; and
- Ensures fisheries legislation is consistent with Northern Territory privacy laws and other Australian fisheries legislation.
In particular, Part II, Divisions 2-5 and large Parts of Part VI in the Fisheries Act are amended, as well as a new Schedule 3 for reviewable decisions being inserted.
According to the Second Reading Speech, the Act aims:
"to ensure the Territory’s aquatic resources are both sustainable and optimally utilised, [noting] there is a need to make certain that the underpinning regulatory framework for our fisheries remains contemporary and affective. There is also a need to be mindful of those operating in the industry and, where possible, remove or reduce unnecessary red tape. This Act seeks to achieve these outcomes by making some long-needed amendments to the current Fisheries Act, which was enacted in 1988, some 28 years ago."
The amendments contained in the Act, according to the Second Reading Speech, were developed over a 10-year period of proactive consultation with industry groups, representative Aboriginal organisations and those in the wider community, including the peak stakeholder groups such as the Northern Territory Seafood Council, the Northern Territory Guided Fishing Industry Association, the Aboriginal land councils, the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee and the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Territory.
According to the Media Release, the amended Fisheries Act (NT):
- has removed unnecessary complexity and ambiguity in the licensing framework and increased operational flexibility and security for licensees;
- establishes a consistent approach to the prevention, response, treatment and eradication of noxious species, diseased or contaminated fish and aquatic life;
- delivers increased confidence in the expertise and proficiency of tourism operators; and
- empowers Fisheries Inspectors (Marine Rangers) with fishing enforcement powers.
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Sources:
Fisheries Legislation Amendment Act 2016 (23 of 2016) [NT] and Secondary materials as reproduced on TimeBase LawOne
